BNL SPOTLIGHTS

NOTE TO EDITORS: "BNL Spotlights" is issued periodically to
bring you up to date on some of the latest newsworthy developments at the
U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. For more information
on any of these items, call Diane Greenberg or Mona S. Rowe at BNL's Public
Affairs Office at (516)344-2345.

DETECTING CHEMICALS, NEAR AND AFAR

The bombing of the World Trade Center in Manhattan and the Alfred E.
Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City recently made Americans aware of
their vulnerability to terrorist attacks. To deal effectively with these
crimes, emergency responders must be prepared to quickly, safely and accurately
identify explosives and other chemicals at the crime scene. A new Brookhaven
technology should make this job easier.

Brookhaven researchers have developed a small, portable sensor
system that can identify the chemical composition of an object at distances
ranging from a few feet to tens of feet. The device directs laser light
toward the object, and the light scatters off the molecules in it. This
phenomenon, known as Raman scattering, allows the researchers to analyze
the scattered light in an instrument called a spectrometer. The resulting
spectral patterns provide the distinctive "fingerprints" of the
chemicals in the object.

This mini-sensor is an offshoot of a large, chemical sensor system
developed at Brookhaven - a 33-foot-long mobile detection van that can identify
chemicals in the atmosphere from several miles away. In recent tests, the
system was able to detect sulfur dioxide, a common industrial chemical,
from a distance of about two miles. While the larger sensor system is best
used for atmospheric testing, the mini-sensor is most efficient in determining
the composition of surfaces. Both Raman sensor systems have numerous potential
uses, which include identifying chemical weapons, monitoring industrial
emissions, gaining evidence related to environmental crimes and assessing
the effectiveness of environmental cleanups.

SPECIAL CABLE CUTS COSTS

Brookhaven's newest accelerator now under construction, the Relativistic
Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), will require 25,000 feet of cable to supply thousands
of amperes of electrical current for 960 superconducting magnets, which
are the largest of 1,740 magnets in the collider. To supply this huge amount
of power efficiently, Brookhaven and New England Electric Wire Corporation
in Lisbon, New Hampshire, designed a special superconducting cable that
costs $50 per foot - significantly cheaper than the $250-per-foot cost of
conventional copper cable. The new, flexible cable, consisting of many
individually insulated cables enclosed in radiation-resistant materials
manufactured by DuPont, will cut power consumption by 6,000 megawatt-hours
annually, saving the Laboratory about $600,000 per year in operating costs.
When RHIC begins operating in 1999, it will collide subatomic particles
at nearly the speed of light to create a form of hot, dense matter that
has not existed since moments after the Big Bang.

DEDICATED TO POLYMERS

Polymers are large, chain-like molecules formed by chemical binding of
smaller molecules. Natural polymers include cotton and rubber, while synthetic
polymers include nylon and polyethylene. Polymers are used to make a wide
variety of materials, from clothing to electronics. A new beam line that
uses high-intensity x-rays for studying the structure of polymers at the
molecular level has recently opened at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron
Light Source, a facility that generates x-rays, ultraviolet radiation and
infrared radiation to probe materials. The new beam line allows researchers
to visualize how the molecular structure of polymers changes during various
industrial processes. This research can help industry to optimize the properties
of polymers, increase efficiency in manufacturing them, and reduce waste.
Seven institutions funded the construction of the beam line - Brookhaven
Lab, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the State University
of New York at Stony Brook, Allied-Signal, General Electric, Hoechst Celanese
and Montell USA.

USING LIGHT TO MANIPULATE MATTER

Using specialized lasers developed to pulse extremely intense light up
to 1,000 times per second, Brookhaven researchers are conducting basic research
that may lead to unprecedented control over chemical and physical processes.
Very intense light can produce significant changes in the energy-structure
of atoms and molecules. In addition, the new laser systems afford a greater
control of all aspects of light. These two factors translate into a greater
ability to fine-tune the interaction of light with matter. Control of that
interaction may be used to steer photochemical reactions toward desired
outcomes and may ultimately lead to an ability to "engineer" materials
at the molecular level.